Indonesia

July 5, 2016

The Sisyphus Factor

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali, July 6, 2016 The retreat of the resources sector is apparently hitting the accommodation and pembantu sectors in Jakarta, as well as business generally. For a country such as Indonesia, just as for Australia, depressed demand and sinking prices for commodities hit… Continue reading

Bali, Bureaucracy, Business, Charity, Fine Dining, Food, General Interest, Indonesia, Wine

Alexsander Martins Paim, Arief Wicaksono, Brexit, Casillero del Diablo, Marian Carroll, Mike O’Leary, ROLE Foundation, Samantha Coomber, Vin+, Waterman’s Week 2016
May 24, 2016

Ordure of the Day

Hector’s Bali Diary His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences May 25, 2016 News that Bali’s beaches are the repositories of sewage is hardly novel, and it’s not by any means confined to the Legian beachfront, where the latest discovery by those who should ensure it doesn’t happen has stirred up a noisome… Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Australia, Bali, Bureaucracy, Business, Death Penalty, Environment, Indonesia

Aceh, Alcohol, Australian Sex Party, beach follies, Beach pollution, Capsized ferries, drains, Legian, Rodrigo Duterte, Ross Fitzgerald, Rottnest Island Surferfest, Runaway deer, Surabaya, Sweania Betzeba Delisa
April 29, 2016

Here’s a Tip

Hector’s Bali Diary, Apr. 27, 2016 His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Now that the issue of destroying Benoa Bay so that rich people can get even richer is at the forefront of the public mind, and is the subject as it should be of robust dissention, it’s time to… Continue reading

Bali, Economic Development, Environment, EU, Festivals, Food, Foreign Investment, General Interest, Indonesia, Lombok, Rabies, Tourism, Ubud

2016 Ubud Food Festival, Benoa Bay, Chinese bridesmaids, Chinese investment, European tourists, FAO, Fragrant Rice, Gerard Delhaes, Rabies control, Suwung
April 13, 2016

Lost in the Forest

Hector’s Bali Diary, Apr. 13, 2016 His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, visited Sumatra and said he thought it would be a great idea to protect the rainforest and the orangutans living in it, especially from palm oil plantations. This is an unexceptional statement. It is… Continue reading

America, Australia, Bali, Environment, Indonesia, Politics, Pornography, Sexual Health

American Pie, Ardian Nugroho, Cheese, Don McLean, Drunken Monkeys, Free condoms, Leonardo DiCaprio, Steve Palmer
March 30, 2016

Hector’s Bali Diary, Mar. 30, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Voice of the People That 29 banjars can get together to protest the proposed corporate vandalism of Benoa Bay and the destruction of its precious mangrove environment is a political problem for the provincial government and the lesser authorities whose fief is Badung regency. This… Continue reading

Bali, Books, Environment, Festivals, Indonesia, Politics, Social Development, Tourism, Writing

Benoa Bay, Candi Dasa, Clare McAlaney, Destination Asia, Droit de Seigneur, Earth Hour, Easter breaks, Free Visas, Governor Pastika, Grass roots democracy, Indonesia Raya, Mike O’Leary, PLN, Supporting ROLE, Tales of Lucky, Tolak Reklamasi, Tomy Winata, UWRF 2016, Vyt Karazija
March 15, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Mar. 16, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Keep them at Bay Made Wijaya, the go-to Bule for behind-the-friezes analysis of Bali society and what really makes it tick, has some very sensible things to say, in his latest Stranger in Paradise column, about the excrescence Governor Made Mangku Pastika and Jakarta business tycoon… Continue reading

Bali, Charity, Economic Development, Environment, Indonesia, Politics, Public Administration, Rabies, Social Development, Tourism

Amanda Csebik, Association of Veterinarians Indonesia (PDHI), Badung Regency, Benoa mangroves, Deborah Cassrels, Ferry sinkings, Governor Pastika, Hat Party, International Women’s Day, Jewel Topsfield, Klungkung, Local Heroes, Made Restiani, Made Wijaya, Mike O’Leary, Muriel Ydo, Phantom Projects, Rabies Red Zone, Sydney Morning Herald, Tomy Winata, Tsunami buoys
February 16, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Feb. 17, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Far Queue Again The periodic struggle to get vehicles into and out of Ngurah Rai airport was worse than usual on Feb. 5, apparently. We weren’t there, which is probably a good thing. One hour-plus irritation a month already tests our toleration limit. It isn’t… Continue reading

Australia, Bali, Business, Indonesia, Indonesian Law, Labor Party, Law, Politics, Public Administration, Tourism

Automated mail, Bali’s airport, Castaway resort, IKEA, Invisible Men, Lembongan, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, Rule of Lore, sentient justices, Suna Cavanagh, Tabloid TV, Traffic jams, Unhappy Hour
January 19, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Jan. 20, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Modern Times There’s been an outbreak of nostalgia for the “old Bali” recently, one of those periodic episodes where everyone puts on their rose-tinted glasses and peers back into the past, fondly recalling what they think they remember. Ah, the old days! Things were so… Continue reading

Art, Australia, Bali, Books, Bureaucracy, Economic Development, Environment, Indonesia, Social Development, Tourism

Capitalism, Country Road Picture Framers, David Bowie, Gordon Gecko, Governor Pastika, Hindu culture, Jesuits, Karl Marx, Litterers, Made Kaek, Manipulative rubs, Phil Jarratt, Sarah Bowes, Smokers, Steve Palmer, Western mendicants
December 22, 2015

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Dec. 23, 2015

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Christmas Story This week we observe the official birthday – though of course its date is wholly notional – of one of Islam’s leading saints, the nabi Isa al-Mahdi, whom Muslims also honour as the Messiah. In the Christian rite, it is Christmas, the… Continue reading

Australia, Bali, General Interest, History, Indonesia

Benedict Anderson, Christmas fables, Croquet, jade richardson, Monkey business, ROLE Foundation, SoleMen, Summer daze, Tim Hannigan
December 8, 2015

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Dec. 9, 2015

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences You Could Cry Animal fan Rhonda Lepsch has for two years run a great operation called Jet Set Petz – the name came from the jet ski operation in which she’s involved at Tanjung Benoa near Nusa Dua – but it will soon be… Continue reading

Bali, Bureaucracy, Charity, General Interest, Indonesia, Indonesian Law, Politics, Public Administration, Rabies

Bali veterinarians, Dharma and Karma, Hindu rites, Indonesia Air Asia, La Gazette de Bali, Mike O’Leary, Nominee property, Rhonda Lepsch, ROLE Models

About Me

Former journalist now confined by age and indolence to blogging about this and that, now from Western Australia, previously from Indonesia (that’s the 8 degrees in the title) and before that, Queensland. I don’t do a newsletter so ignore that prompt below.